Two pounds of fatty pork, half a pound of coarse salt, four ounces of black sugar, along with ten pounds of sweet potatoes, ten pounds of potatoes, various vegetables, and ten packages of dicinal herbs—just in case. With these, the efficiency might even increase.
Last ti, it was too rushed, and the planning wasn’t thorough. We only provided thirty pounds of grain and completely forgot about the important salt.
The Qin family works incredibly earnestly, so Hua Jin isn’t worried about giving them these supplies.
Speaking of, in the past, how could thirty pounds of grain have built such a vast wall? Even if it were worth twenty wen a day, it would still be four or five pounds of grain. Giving a bit more is simply what’s right.
Leaving a note to inform the Qin family of her arrival, Hua Jin slipped away toward the Qinggu Mountain range behind the village.
It’s been days since I left ho, not only is Hua Jin eager to return ho, but her family is probably anxious too.
By the ti the setting sun was lowering, Hua Jin was nervously hurrying along the road as Mrs. Li returned from a half-day’s work. She was startled by the sight on the wooden table, forgetting her fatigue instantly. Then she quickly shut the door and hurriedly went to find her son, clutching the note.
"Eldest... Eldest..."
From a distance, Qin Shu heard his mother’s panicked voice and stopped his work to go et her.
"What’s wrong, mom? Why are you so flustered?"
"Son, suddenly there are many things at ho, there’s even at, look..." She handed the note to her son as she spoke.
"at," the brothers Qin Lu and Qin Ming exclaid. At this mont, nothing is more enticing than at, so they dropped the bricks in their hands and gathered around.
"Mom, what at, we have at at ho? Really?" The youngest, Qin Ming, couldn’t help but salivate, smacking his lips as he spoke.
Lately, they’ve been so focused on building the wall, they haven’t had ti to hunt behind the village. It’s been a long ti since their ho has had any grease; although their als have improved quite a bit, without oil and short on salt, working continuously for so many days has really pushed their stamina to the limit. When they heard there was at, they couldn’t restrain themselves, their eyes gleaming as they looked at their mother.
The kids’ greedy expressions made Mrs. Li’s heart ache a bit, and she quickly nodded, looking at her eldest son. She wondered if it was just as she suspected that these items were sent by Miss Hua Jin. After all, besides her, Mrs. Li couldn’t think of anyone else.
But... she was quite generous, giving so many good things, and there’s even salt and sugar.
Qin Shu glanced at the note, his eyes flashed montarily, then he quickly nodded, "Mom, it’s Miss Hua Jin."
"It really is that girl, I guessed it was her, but these items are so valuable, son, can we really eat them? Should we return them?" Though Mrs. Li wanted to rush back and put the items away imdiately, she felt a bit uneasy. After all, they had already received dozens of pounds of grain and a silver ingot as paynt, and now they were even living in soone else’s house. Accepting more things seed a bit greedy and unreasonable, and just thinking about it made her uncomfortable.
"Mom, don’t overthink. Miss Hua Jin wants us to have more strength and build the wall sooner, it’s fine. Keep your mind at ease and eat without worry. I’ll repay them when there’s a chance in the future," Qin Shu reassured his conflicted mother. After all, they couldn’t return the items because they truly didn’t know exactly where Miss Hua Jin stayed in the Qinggu Mountain. Plus, they genuinely needed these items right now, especially the salt, as the physical labor was too intense for their family to endure without it.
In this way, the debt of gratitude grew even larger.
"Then I’ll go back to prepare them." Mrs. Li’s heart eased sharply after her son’s words, a smile spreading across her face.
Thinking about that big chunk of fatty at made her even happier. It had been a long ti since their ho had any grease, and now they wouldn’t have to worry for a while.
"Hurry up, everyone’s hungry."
On the scaffold, Qin Dagen, who never ca down from laying the bricks, kept his ears open. Listening to his wife saying there were so many supplies at ho made him a bit uneasy, feeling sowhat unworthy.
But since the supplies were sent over, they couldn’t just let them spoil. The thought of having at made Qin Dagen swallow hard, and not to ntion, seeing how greedy his two sons were—they’d definitely try to repay the favor once there’s a chance. The thought excited him a bit.
"Alright, alright, I’ll head back now. After an hour, co over and eat!" Leaving these words, Mrs. Li hurried ho.
Once ho, she put away everything on the wooden table except the fatty pork. Then she went on to render the lard, producing half a jar of snow-white lard; the fragrant lard made Mrs. Li nearly want to drink it up.
By the ti the Qin fathers and sons ca back after an hour, they had the most sumptuous al they had in days. Not only did they have sweet potato rice, but also fried vegetables with pork cracklings. Mrs. Li also rarely made wild vegetable cakes. After the al, the Qin fathers and sons felt as if their strength had returned, and then went into the pitch-black night to work another hour by torchlight before returning ho for a sweet and sound sleep.
As for Hua Jin, she had already reached ho and was resting in bed.
She returned after dinner, arriving in such a manner that almost everyone in the valley was drawn out.
Could one not draw attention, really? At this ti, anyone who paraded two large fatty dostic pigs and a few piglets back would catch people’s attention.
Even before reaching the inner valley, her Uncle An Nai called out, letting the whole village know, leaving Hua Jin feeling helpless.
Attention aside, this ti, it was truly a decisive act. Having acquired this old sow, the village never needed to worry about pork again.
And with only one piglet left at ho, there wasn’t enough for her aunts’ hos.
Thronged joyfully by everyone till she got ho, more people would have gathered if the place wasn’t too cramped.
No ti was left for Hua Jin to eat, and the wild piglets got swiftly doled out, but Hua Jin prudently saved three. Without it, her two aunts wouldn’t have snatched any.
This was the pitfall of being a village chief; seeking fairness sotis left relatives at a disadvantage.
As for the pigs’ origin, given the previous setup, it was easily glossed over.
The uniform answer was that Hua Jin managed to capture the two pigs after days of waiting like a hunter catching a rabbit, plus a few piglets along the way.
Regarding how many a sow could actually bear, that wasn’t Hua Jin’s concern, nor was it anything everyone cared to consider. In everyone’s eyes, as long as there were pigs, how they arrived was secondary.
Anyway, having pigs ant there wouldn’t be any worry of having no grease, no matter who raised them. In a few months, there’d be nothing to fret over.
However, Hua Jin’s prowess and good fortune once again beca the town’s hot topic. She was, without a doubt, the luckiest girl in Hua Village, and it was no wonder Village Chief Hu’s family kept such a watchful eye over her. If they had a child as blessed, they’d dote on her too.
When things settled down, more than an hour had already passed, and Hua Jin had finished eating and was resting in her room. As Mrs. Hua and Mrs. Qi lovingly checked on her, she was already sound asleep in her room.
The mother-in-law and daughter-in-law saw how exhausted the child was, and tiptoed out quietly, waving at the father and son standing at the door.
"Asleep," they mouthed silently.
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